She Told a Lie

by P. D. Workman

  The Rhys he knew was absent. Rhys was always present and engaged, focused intently on Zachary to be able to communicate with him. The boy sitting on the couch with Vera was a thousand miles away, sucked into the past, drowning in fear and confusion.

  “Madison messaged Rhys asking for help. Rhys came to me.”

  “He should have come to me. We could have called the police.” Vera looked at Rhys, frowning over his lost expression. “But what… why didn’t you go to the police? What happened? Kenzie said that he was with you, but she didn’t say what had happened.”

  “It’s been a long night. We went to help Madison and her boyfriend Noah. But a lot of things happened. It was… Rhys had a bad flashback to when his grandfather was killed.”

  Vera rubbed Rhys’s back. “What did he say? How do you know that? He never talks about…”

  “He was saying ‘just stop it, just stop it,’” Zachary explained. “You told me that’s what he said after your husband was killed.”

  Vera’s brows drew down. She nodded, eyes shining with tears. “Yes, that’s right.” She tried to look into Rhys’s eyes. “Sweetheart… you want to tell me about it? Rhys?”

  He didn’t look at her.

  “Kenzie said… you probably want to get him to a therapist right away. And stay with him tonight. So he’s not alone.”

  “Of course,” Vera agreed. “He was alone that night.” She hugged Rhys close to her. “When we came home, he was in his bed, and Clarence was in the kitchen,” she choked up, “dead. We thought at first that maybe Rhys had slept through it, but…”

  But he hadn’t. Zachary had a pretty good idea that he’d seen everything. And despite what Vera said, Rhys hadn’t been alone with his grandfather that night.

  “Just stay with him tonight,” he repeated. “And get in to see his therapist. Whoever has been helping him.”

  Vera nodded. She ruffled Rhys’s hair like he was a little boy. “And later, will you tell me more about what happened tonight?”

  “I don’t know how much I’ll be able to tell you,” he evaded. “You know, client confidentiality…”

  “Oh. Of course. Do you… need anything? Some tea, or… is there anything I can do for you? I appreciate you taking care of Rhys and bringing him home.”

  “No. I’ve got to get back to Kenzie’s. There’s more work to be done tonight.”

  Vera nodded. “Okay. But call me. Tomorrow, if you can. Soon.”

  “I will. And I’ll come back and see Rhys.” Zachary looked down at his feet, unable to meet her gaze. “If you want me to.”

  “You’re always welcome here,” Vera said.

  But he was sure it was just words. She was being polite and, once she’d had a chance to think about it and to see how badly he’d traumatized Rhys, she would have second thoughts.

  Step one was taken care of. Rhys was back with Vera, safe and sound. Out of the way of any further retaliation by the trafficking syndicate if the rest of the steps went according to plan.

  When Zachary returned to Kenzie’s house, he found Madison asleep on the couch. Noah was still lying on the boxes on the dolly and, despite the hard, uneven surface, appeared to be resting comfortably. Kenzie had cleaned up the bloody towels and everything looked neat and tidy. Noah had a couple of adhesive strips pulling together cuts on his face, and Kenzie said he wouldn’t need stitches. As long as she monitored him and he didn’t have any unexpected brain swelling, he would make a good recovery. Concussions could cause long-term problems, but Kenzie hoped that he was young enough to bounce back from it quickly.

  “You need to go take care of your car,” she told Zachary. “There are some basic supplies on the tool bench beside the storage unit. Tape up some plastic over that broken window so you don’t get pulled over by the police. Then you’d better get on your way.” She looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s getting late. Or early.”

  Zachary managed to find everything he needed in the garage and temporarily covered the window. He looked over the car and found several nicks and holes from bullets. It was going to need some body work when he was done. At least he had money in savings from a few recent cases.

  Once the car was ready, he went back into the house and woke Madison up.

  “We need to get you to the safe house,” he told her. “Let’s get moving.”

  Madison groaned and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t want to go anywhere. Why can’t I stay here?”

  “It’s not safe here. I don’t want to put Kenzie in danger if anyone manages to track you this far. We need to get you out of here.”

  “Where’s Noah?”

  “He’s still in the kitchen.”

  “Is he awake?”

  “Not yet,” Kenzie advised. “I’m still waiting for him to come around.”

  “Then we can’t go yet.”

  “You’re not going together,” Zachary told her firmly. “We need to separate the two of you to make you harder to track. And to make sure that Noah can’t turn you back in to Peggy Ann and Gordo.”

  “He wouldn’t do that.”

  Zachary remembered how sure Jocelyn had been that he would do just that, sooner or later. “We can’t be sure of that.”

  “He wouldn’t!”

  “We need to get you somewhere safe, Madison, and we need to do it right now, before Peggy Ann can find you. Do you want her to find you here?”

  Madison’s eyes widened. “No.”

  “Do you want them to target Kenzie, because she gave you safe shelter? You think that’s a good way to repay her for what she’s done for you and Noah?”

  “No!”

  “Then you need to get out of here before they can trace you. They were already tracking your phone. They know all of your friends and family, because Noah gave them all that information and they can look up anything they want to about your friends at school or on your social networks. I have a safe house for you, but you need to come with me and do what I say and not argue or ask questions.”

  Madison looked uncertain. Zachary stood there, looking as stern as possible, trying to channel all of those ‘mom looks’ he’d gotten from his various mother figures over the years. In charge and unmoving.

  Madison nodded, dropping her eyes. “Yeah, okay,” she agreed in a small voice.

  “Go to the bathroom and let’s get out of here.”

  “Okay.”

  He nodded and watched her retreat down the hallway to get ready to go. Kenzie smiled at Zachary. “I’m seeing a whole different side of you today!”

  “Did I do okay? Do you think she’ll listen?”

  “No guarantees,” Kenzie sighed. “I’ve heard that it’s pretty hard to get these girls out of the lifestyle, once they’re in. Their whole outlook is distorted. But all you can do is your best. Stick to the plan and hope that she can hang in there.”

  Zachary nodded. They waited a couple more minutes, and then Madison came out of the bathroom.

  “Can I say goodbye to Noah?”

  “Make it quick,” Zachary said. If everything came together the way they had planned, then it would be the last time she saw him. They might as well give her one last moment with him.

  Madison tiptoed into the kitchen and looked down at Noah. Her eyes shone with tears. Zachary wondered how much of it was true emotion and how much was being exhausted and coming down from the adrenaline and whatever drugs she might have taken earlier. She’d been through a lot, but her feelings toward Noah were strong. She’d been manipulated by an expert with plenty of experience.

  She murmured a few words to him, promising him that she would see him again soon, and gave him a kiss. She looked at Zachary and Kenzie, awkward.

  “You’ll take good care of him, won’t you? And he’ll be okay?”

  “I’ll do my best,” Kenzie agreed. “I’m just worried about his head. He really should have woken up before now.”

  Madison squeezed Noah’s hand and reluctantly let go.

  “All right,” Zachary said. “Let�
��s get on our way.”

  45

  It seemed like it took a long time to get to their destination. Zachary was a little anxious about how it would all work out. He had only met the Creedys briefly before. That was one of the reasons they were a good choice for a safe house. His connection with them was very tenuous. It would be almost impossible for anyone to figure out where he had taken Madison.

  He wasn’t sure how they would respond to Madison or how long she would be able to stay there. Once she was settled, he would contact her parents and see if they were willing to pull up stakes and move away to start a new life with her. Even if they did, he wasn’t sure it would work out. Madison had had a taste of independence, money, and drugs and, once most girls had been in that life, it was pretty hard to make a break from it and just go back to living at home with their parents and dealing with the normal responsibilities of teenagerhood.

  Madison slept most of the way, so Zachary didn’t have to worry about keeping a conversation going. Had she taken something, like Noah, while she was out of sight? Between being shot at and the coffee and his anxiety over Rhys’s trauma and getting Madison somewhere safe, Zachary wasn’t going to be able to sleep for some time. It might be days before he was able to calm down enough to get a good sleep.

  Madison awoke as they entered the city, with the pink light of dawn peeking over the horizon and the abrupt stops and starts at traffic lights. She snorted, straightened, and rubbed her eyes, looking around.

  “Are we there?”

  “Almost.”

  “Where are we going?” She hadn’t expressed much curiosity about his plans until then. “I’m not going to some kind of rehab or lockdown.”

  “No. It’s just a couple that I know from another case. Not an institution.”

  “I don’t need some kind of therapy or retraining.”

  Zachary shrugged. Opinions on that matter would vary. He knew there were a lot of people who would insist that the only way to keep Madison off of the streets and away from individuals who would harm her was to put her into a program of intensive behavioral therapy. He had been in enough institutions and programs to recognize that if the target of the therapy didn’t buy into the program, there wasn’t much point. She would pretend to be ‘converted’ and follow the program until she found a way to escape, and then she would run. If she were going to overcome the life she’d been lured into, that decision was going to have to come from her, just like Joss had said.

  Madison sat there looking sullen for a few minutes, then apparently decided that it wasn’t getting her anywhere, and relaxed her confrontational attitude. “What are they like, then? Who are they?”

  “They’re older than your parents. They lost a daughter a few years ago to a drunk driver. They have a set of twins. Grown. Empty-nesters.”

  “And they take in fosters, or what?”

  “No. This isn’t something they normally do. I just asked them for a favor. Be nice to them. They don’t have any ulterior motives and aren’t judging you; they don’t know much about your situation. They’re just giving you a place to stay for a few days while we sort things out.”

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s it. An older couple doing a nice thing for you.”

  Madison stared out the window. She nodded. “Okay.”

  It didn’t take long for Zachary to make his way across town to the Creedys’. He looked at Madison one more time.

  “Be nice,” he reminded her. “We want to keep you safe. That’s why we’re here. Not because anyone is trying to save you.”

  “Yeah, I hear you. I know.”

  They walked up to the house and Zachary rang the doorbell. It was Mrs. Creedy who answered the door. An attractive older woman with dark strawberry blond hair. Zachary didn’t know if it were natural or dyed. He suspected it might be dye, but it was the same color as it had been the last time he had seen her.

  “Mr. Goldman, come in.” She gestured for them to enter and Zachary stepped up and into the house, with Madison behind him.

  “It’s Zachary. This is Madison, Mrs. Creedy. Thank you again for offering a roof over her head for a few days.”

  Mrs. Creedy studied Madison curiously. “Of course. I couldn’t turn her down knowing that she wouldn’t have anywhere safe to go. How are you, Madison; are you okay?” She touched Madison’s arm, looking concerned.

  Madison pulled away. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

  “You must be tired. It sounds like you’ve been up all night. I’ll show you to your room.”

  Madison shook her head. She folded her arms, looking back and forth between Zachary and Mrs. Creedy. “This is really nice of you. I’m just… not sure about it all. I slept in the car, so I’m okay for now.” She looked anxiously at Zachary. “Do you think you could call Kenzie? See how Noah is doing? I want to know…” She trailed off. She wanted to know what Noah would tell her to do, if Zachary guessed correctly. She was used to doing what he told her to and was adrift without him managing her life.

  “Kenzie is going to call when she knows something. I don’t want to interrupt her when she may be getting some sleep or be busy with Noah’s care.”

  “Yeah… I guess…”

  “Why don’t you sit down, and you and Mrs. Creedy can get to know each other. You can tell her about school. What you like to do, your best subjects…”

  Madison sat down, but she shrugged at Zachary’s suggestion. School had not been her priority for a few months. Even though she had been attending up until her disappearance, she had been mentally absent. Sleeping through classes after spending her nights partying or servicing Noah’s clients. Waiting for the end of the day when he would pick her up again. Her grades had been plummeting, and she had been completely disengaged.

  Which was exactly why Zachary wanted her to talk to Mrs. Creedy about school. He wanted her to start thinking about school again. How important it was to her future. How normal it was for a girl of her age to be going to school, not hanging out with her boyfriend and turning tricks.

  Madison scratched her ear, looking at Mrs. Creedy.

  “I don’t know. I’m not really into school.”

  “It can be hard for young people,” Mrs. Creedy said generously. “I found it was a lot harder for my twins. Hope was different. She really loved school. Loved learning, and socializing with her friends. She got good marks, went on to college. I really thought she was going to turn out to be something great. A doctor or professor. Maybe something else. But…” Mrs. Creedy trailed off.

  Madison looked sideways at Zachary. “Zachary said you had a daughter that died.”

  “Yes. She showed so much promise, and then… she was taken from us so suddenly. I don’t know… how someone recovers from that. One day she was in our life, and the next, she was gone. I hope you’re good to your parents. Don’t ever think that you don’t matter to them. Nothing matters like your children.”

  Madison pulled her feet up onto the couch, her bent knees in front of her chest. She looked pensive.

  Zachary didn’t speak up. It was what Madison needed to hear, and she needed to hear it from someone other than him. He would never say anything so absolute. He knew very well that children were not the most important thing to every parent. His biological parents hadn’t wanted kids around. They had dumped their children when things got too hard. That freed them up to pursue their own lives, whatever it was they had wanted. Zachary had a hard time picturing what they had gone on to do after he and the other children were gone. He assumed that they had broken up. There were only two ways that his parents could have gone. Either they had separated and divorced, or one of them had killed the other. They hadn’t gone on to live happily ever after, that much he knew.

  And he’d had plenty of foster parents who hadn’t given much thought to the children they were raising either. Sometimes they loved their own bio kids and treated them differently from the fosters. And sometimes there was no difference. They just treated them all like something unple
asant tracked in on their shoes.

  But Madison’s parents did care about her. Deeply. She needed to be reminded of that. Kids tended to think that their parents didn’t love them because they had strict rules and expectations. Because the kids didn’t want responsibility and their parents wanted them to grow up to be productive adults and, somewhere in between, they had to stand firm in order to shepherd their kids into the right path.

  “I’ll be talking to your parents,” Zachary reminded Madison. “They’re going to want to talk to you and to come and see you. But we have to be careful that they can’t be tracked here. So it might take a few days to get everything arranged.”

  Of course, he was planning on Madison’s parents agreeing to leave their lives behind in order to reunite with her and have her for a couple more years. That might not happen. Or it might not happen in the ‘few days’ that Zachary was promising. Zachary didn’t know how long Mrs. Creedy would be agreeable to putting Madison up, or how long Madison would stay there before she got tired of it and ran.

  He was hoping he’d be able to fit everything together like a puzzle and it would all come smoothly together. But that wasn’t always the way that things worked out. His life had not turned out that way.

  “Yeah, I know,” Madison agreed. Maybe she had doubts that it would all be roses. After everything she had done to disrespect her parents and their rules, the way that she had broken their hearts by running off, maybe the reconciliation wouldn’t be as easy as that. Maybe they wouldn’t want Madison back.

  “What do you like best about school?” Mrs. Creedy asked, returning to the topic that Zachary had introduced.

  “I don’t know. I like seeing my friends. I haven’t seen any of them for a long time. But… I guess I won’t be able to see them at all now.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you could still reach out to them,” Mrs. Creedy assured her.